ASHLEY BEEDLE

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He brought house music to Notting Hill Carnival

Ashley Beedle has been involved in more projects than a US building marshal. His style is as diverse as his hometown’s cultural crucible (London) and his productions have been championed by artists ranging from Danny Tenaglia to Fabio and Grooverider as well as Gilles Peterson to John Digweed. Where do we start in doing this man’s career justice in so few words? He brought house music to Notting Hill Carnival (with Shock Soundsystem), he produced one of the first British garage tunes and his initial production as Black Science Orchestra on Junior Boys Own broke him internationally. X-Press 2’s massive hit, “Lazy”, an inspired collaboration with former Talking Head David Byrne, and other number one hits has meant X-Press 2’s albums have traveled the globe and at the time of writing this they are currently number one on the US Billboard Club Breakouts chart, again.Ashley’s remixes have ranged from pop and rock bands, little house labels; hip hop mixes, house mixes; as a solo remixer, and as part of X-Press 2. There really are too many to mention, though Elton John’s number one hit “Are You Ready for Love?” and Bob Marley’s “Get Up Stand Up” spring to mind. Though Beedle teamed up with Dave Hill and Rocky & Diesel to form the Ballistic Brothers and release one of 1994's hottest LPs, London Hooligan Soul, he was back with Black Science Orchestra that same year, now just Beedle and Woolford. Though troubles with sample clearance delayed their album almost two years (the duo eventually drafted session musicians and vocalists instead), Beedle kept busy with the formation of the disco-rave project X-Press 2, this time including him and Rocky & Diesel. The trio released singles for Radikal-Q and Junior Boy's Own, but hit the jackpot with a track called "The Sound." It spent weeks at the top of the American dance charts. Later that year, the debut Black Science Orchestra LP, Walter's Room, was released on Junior Boy's Own. Instead of continuing with Black Science Orchestra, Ashley Beedle reunited with Hill and Rocky & Diesel for a second Ballistic Brothers LP, Rude System. Beedle also released two proper solo EPs during 1997, both recorded as Black Jazz Chronicles. The following year brought a BJC album, Future Ju-Ju, the most well-integrated fusion of disco, jazz, and techno of his varied career. Beedle is an in-demand DJ and also runs three labels: Soundboy Entertainment, Afroart, and Ill Sun.